Reflections on teaching, learning, and leadership from a middle school administrator.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Lencioni is Right

Image found on http://platinumbusinessstrategies.com

Lencioni is right. That whole pyramid is pure genius. If you
want to achieve a goal, then you have to start from the bottom and work your
way up, especially if you are new to an organization. Even if your position is
that of a leader, no one who works under, above, or alongside you has to put their absolute trust and faith in you on day one.

So I’ve been in a new building for a little over four months
now, and I know exactly what it feels like to be on the bottom of that pyramid.
However, I’ve also had some experience in climbing it. Since I can be sort of a
klutz, I’ve learned slow and steady is the best way to do it. I’ve been working
hard these past few months to establish relationships with my colleagues and
build trust. Building that trust is a two-way street. While people are figuring
me out, I’m figuring them out as well. It makes me wonder if I should
consider a different model of pyramid to refer to.

Image I Created

Perhaps, I should take the route of the individualized
pyramid approach. Not unlie an IEP, everyone, or at least every department gets its own pyramid. It’s
a pretty fair assumption that I am further up the pyramids pertaining to those
I work closest to. My other thought involves the use of a “skewed” pyramid of
sorts like the one the left.

With people entering and exiting an organization, and new initiatives coming and going, I'm not sure there are many who have the opportunity to climb such a pristine pyramid like the one above. At least, in my world, the one on the left is a little more realistic.

Regardless of what your pyramid looks like, one cannot deny that a pyramid exists within every organization. Make sure you are well equipped to scale the one that exists in yours!